After the Fall
by Collegekid2006
Summary: A sequel to THE SHADOW OF THE DAY. It's been 10 years since Juliet's death. Will is 10, and now he has a new friend...6-year-old Beth Guster. Can Lassiter and the SBPD survive the third generation of Spencers?
1. Chapter 1

"Beth…" Will whispered to the young girl standing next to him as their eyes locked on the desk across the precinct. He squatted next to her, his arm draped over her shoulder.

"What?" she whispered back, looking over at him with her wide, innocent six-year-old eyes.

Will was a whole three years older than her, which meant she was ready to do whatever he said.

An evil grin crept across the corner's of his mouth as he lined up the two adults at the desk in his sites. He brushed a shock of shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes and pointed at them.

"See Chief Lassiter?" he whispered.

She nodded, her eyes still wide and unblinking. "Uh-huh."

"You have to distract him while I get the keys from Detective Buzz, okay?"

"Why?"

He snorted, as if not believing she even dared to question him. "Because without the keys, we can't get into the holding cell!" he explained.

"Why would we want to get into the holding cell?"

"Because it's cool! And my dad said he got arrested once…I think he robbed a bank or something." Will shrugged off the details breezily, gently prodding the girl towards the desk. "So…" he ordered, his voice quiet so no one else could hear. "Go distract Chief Lassiter."

"Okay…" she agreed hesitantly, taking a tentative step away from Will. She looked back, her brow wrinkled in concern, but he just waved her on.

She took a deep breath and walked up to the two police officers. Detective Buzz was behind the desk, and Chief Lassiter was leaning against it, barking orders at the younger man.

"Close it today, McNab!" he was grunting as Beth approached.

"Yes, Sir," Detective Buzz nodded grimly, then smiled and waved slightly when he saw Beth, glancing over at Chief Lassiter nervously as he did so. "Hey, Beth."

"Hi, Detective Buzz," she returned his wave, smiling sweetly.

"I think you're dad's on a case with Shawn," he told her. "Were you looking for him?"

"No," she shook her head, her black braids smacking the sides of her head. "I was looking for Chief Lassiter."

"Me?" Lassiter blinked, looking surprised and somewhat peeved. "Why are you looking for me, Guster?"

"Uh…" she stammered, glancing back at the doorway where she had left Will, but he was gone. "Uh…"

"What?" Lassiter snapped impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest, clearly not caring she was only six-years-old. "I'm busy, Guster. Spit it out!"

"Uh…" her mind was completely blank as she stared at the carpet. "Where do babies come from?" she burst out suddenly, looking back up at their now terrified, pale faces.

"What?" Lassiter stammered as Detective Buzz suppressed a laugh.

"Where do babies come from?" she repeated, her eyes darting around the station looking for Will. She knew he was somewhere near by, waiting for a chance to grab the keys to the holding cell off of Detective Buzz's belt. She finally spotted him behind the plant in the corner, peering out between the leaves.

Lassiter glanced over at Detective Buzz. "McNab?" he grunted. "Do you--?"

"No, Sir!" Buzz shook his head.

Lassiter scowled. "Go close those cases!" he ordered, gesturing emphatically at the door.

"Yes, Sir!" Buzz jumped up and beat a quick retreat, still trying not to laugh. Beth followed him with her eyes, watching as Will ducked behind desks and counters as he followed him.

"Guster!" Lassiter snapped, interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked, blinking up at him.

He hesitated, looking more than a little uncomfortable, then cleared his throat. "What was the question?"

"Um…babies."

"Right."

He leaned back against the desk, sighing heavily as he appraised the girl in front of him. "Don't you have parents for this?" he demanded.

"Yeah…" she nodded. "But dad told me to ask mom and mom said that dad needs to man up and have the talk…"

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Well, go ask someone else," he grunted, walking away.

"Okay…" she shrugged, turning and skipping off. "If you don't know, I'll just ask someone--"

Lassiter whirled back around, his eyes narrowing. "I know!" he shouted, his ears turning red.

She turned back around and faced him, the very picture of complete innocence. "Really?" she asked, folding her arms skeptically across his chest.

"Yes!"

"Then where do they come from?" she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently.

Lassiter cleared his throat again, hesitating. "Well…" he started, but never got any further.

"Help!" a screaming voice cut through the relative quiet of the precinct. "Help!"

Lassiter jumped, looking around. "What the hell--?"

"Help!"

He quickly followed the sound down the corridor that led to the holding cells, followed closely by Beth.

"Help!" the terrified voice continued to scream.

He stopped dead when he reached the first holding cell.

Will Spencer was in it, on his hands and knees straining to reach out the bars. Detective McNab's keys were on the floor a few feet away.

"Spencer!" Lassiter growled, snatching the keys up off the floor. "What the hell--?"

"Uh..." Will stammered, quickly scrambling to his feet. "I was…just…checking the lock for you?" He cleared his throat and tapped the door smartly. "Yep…they work."

Beth laughed. "You're locked in, Will!"

He scowled at her. "Then let me out!"

Lassiter rolled his eyes and spun on his heel, marching away. "I've waited too long toget a Spencer behind bars," he grunted over his shoulder. "At least I'll know where the hell you are until your dad and Guster get back."

"Oh, come on!" Will called after him, tugging pitifully on the bars. "You can't leave me in here! Don't I have rights or something? Isn't this child abuse?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, come on, Lassie!" Will heard a familiar voice shouting down the hall after what seemed like a million years of solitary confinement…or maybe it was only fifteen minutes. He jumped off the hard, wooden bench and ran to the bars, griping them with white-knuckles as he waited for his father to come rescue him.

A moment later, Shawn came up the hallway, walking with a brisk, determined stride a few feet ahead of Lassiter. When he reached his son's cell, he suddenly stopped, looking through the bars at Will, who grinned back at him and waved innocently.

"Hi, Dad!"

Shawn rolled his eyes and laughed, leaning his shoulder against the bars. "I always figured you'd be at least thirteen the first time we had this conversation," he laughed, shaking his head in helpless amusement.

Will, however, did not find his predicament nearly as funny. "He won't let me out!" he shouted, pointing accusingly at Lassiter.

Shawn turned to the Chief. "Come on, Lassie. Let him out."

"_I'm_ not the one who put him in there," Lassiter pointed out, crossing his arms. "And damn it, Spencer! I've been Chief for six years! Stop calling me Lassie!"

"Yeah. Okay." Shawn snorted, thrusting him thumb in the general direction of his son. "Let my kid out of jail, _Chief _Lassie!"

Lassiter scowled, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He unlocked the cell, and Will quickly tumbled out before he could change his mind.

"One of these days, Spencer," he snarled, spinning on his heel and marching away. "I'm going to fire your ass."

"Yeah," Shawn laughed after him, nudging Will playfully with his elbow. "My ass is terrified. Really! Can't you see the terror in my ass?"

Will laughed, too, but it died quickly when his father shot him a warning glare out of the corner of his eye. Will cleared his throat and looked down at the floor, knowing the lecture was inevitable at this point.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Shawn demanded.

"I dunno…" Will shrugged, still not meeting his father's eyes.

"How many times have I told you…" Shawn continued, his finger slapping his palm emphatically. "If you're going to break in somewhere…which you only do in an _emergency_, by the way…you don't lose the keys!"

"Sorry," Will mumbled, jamming his hands into his pockets.

Shawn rolled his eyes, grinning slyly. "You know how we have some things we tell Grandpa and some things we _don't_ tell Grandpa?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Will nodded, looking up at him.

"Well, unless you need bail…getting locked up by the police definitely falls under the Don't Tell Grandpa category. Okay?"

"Right," Will nodded.

"But if you ever do it again…" Shawn added, patting his son's back as they walked up the hallway. "I'll tell him and make you listen to his lecture. Trust me…you'll wish you were back in jail."

* * *

As they drove home in Henry's truck, Will told his father about his adventures that morning.

"She asked Lassie where babies come from?" Shawn laughed when Will got to that part. "What did he say?"

"Nothing…" Will shrugged. "I kinda realized I was locked in at that point…"

Shawn shook his head, grinning broadly at the mental picture of Lassiter's face. "Well, if you want to distract Lassie…baby talk would be the way to go."

Will nodded and sat back in his seat, watching his father's face silently for a few minutes. Shawn's eyes were fixed on the road ahead of them, but he would occasionally cast his son a sideways glance.

"Dad…" Will asked finally. "Are you ever going to have another baby?"

Shawn laughed. "Not unless they've changed the laws of biology since the last time I checked."

"Huh?"

"That's a 'no', Kid," Shawn clarified with a small smile, reaching over and ruffling Will's hair. "You're it. Lucky you."

"Oh," Will blinked thoughtfully, gazing out the window for a moment. "Have you ever thought about it?"

Shawn looked over, raising a single eyebrow at his son. "What?"

"Did you ever think about it?" Will asked again, returning his father's one-eyebrowed gaze.

Shawn shrugged, his fingers tensing slightly around the steering wheel as he turned his eyes back to the road. "I don't know, Will…your mom wanted to have a girl, too…but that didn't happen."

"Oh." Will looked down at his dirty sneakers for a moment, then back up at Shawn. "Are you going to get married again?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Kid…" Shawn murmured, nodding firmly. "I'm sure."

"Are you ever going to go on a date?" Will pressed on, kicking his feet lazily through the air.

Shawn turned to him again, his forehead wrinkled in complete bewilderment. "What?" he asked, laughing nervously. "Do you have someone in mind or something? I'm not going to date your teacher so you won't fail math."

"No," Will laughed. "It's nothing like that…I was just wondering…"

"Well, stop it, Kid." Shawn mumbled, turning back to the road, hoping to put the subject behind them.

"Okay…"

Will dropped the subject and went back to staring out his window. Shawn smiled, watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"I've been on a few dates," he said quietly. "About a year after your mom died, Uncle Gus somehow convinced himself he could set me up with someone…it didn't work out."

"Why not?" Will asked.

Shawn laughed. "The last person he tried to set me up with was Aunt Jessie. That was when you were two."

"Aunt Jessie?" Will gasped in horror, clapping a hand over his mouth. "You went on a date with Aunt Jessie?"

"Not a date…" Shawn told him, still laughing at the memory. "It never got that far. Uncle Gus tried to set it up, though…he kept telling me he met someone at work and she was perfect. Before we actually went out, he figured out she _was_ perfect…for him. He never tried to set me up again."

Will's eyes were wide in horror as he leaned back in his seat again, trying to process this earth-shattering bombshell. "He tried to set you up with Aunt Jessie?" he asked again, just to make sure he hadn't made some terrible mistake in his comprehension.

"Yeah," Shawn nodded, grinning. "He did."

"And you haven't gone on another date since that?"

"Nope."

"Wow…" Will whistled in amazement, turning back to the window. "Then maybe someone should try again…"


	3. Chapter 3

When Shawn and Will pulled into the driveway, the first thing they saw was Henry attempting to scale a ladder he had propped up against the side of the house. He was only halfway up it, but his teeth were gritted in determination as he forced himself to keep climbing. Shawn groaned, rolling his eyes at the sight.

"Uh-oh…" Will moaned, glancing nervously at his father. "Are you going to yell at Grandpa again?"

"Oh, yeah." Shawn nodded, already out of the truck. He slammed the door behind him and stormed across the yard, Will following close behind.

"Dad!" Shawn shouted while he was still 20 yards off. "What the hell are you doing?"

Henry looked down from his perch halfway up the ladder, glaring. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" he snapped. "I'm cleaning the gutters! You were supposed to do it a week ago!"

"I said I'd get to it!" Shawn shot back, finally reaching the base of the ladder. He gripped the rungs and glared up his father. "Get down! The doctor told you no more ladders!"

"Doctors are morons," Henry grumbled.

"Yeah…well, maybe," Shawn conceded, not bothering to get drawn into that endless debate. "But you're 73, Dad. You need to take it easy. How many times do you have to fall and bust your knee up before you stop climbing the damn ladder? And where's your cane, anyway?" he added, looking around for it.

Henry rolled his eyes and slowly started down the ladder, wincing with nearly every movement. "I don't need the damn cane, Shawn," he snapped. "I'm not an invalid."

"No." Shawn snorted sarcastically, watching his father hobble back towards the house. His left leg was completely stiff, not bending even a little as he made his agonizing journey. "You're fine. You don't need a cane at all. Want to go train for the marathon with me?"

"Shut up, Shawn." Henry snapped, his jaw clenched stubbornly as he fought against the pain.

"Stop being an ass, Dad!" Shawn called after him. "Just use the damn cane!"

Shawn looked back at Will and sighed, rolling his eyes. "If I ever get like that," he murmured, only half-joking. "Just shoot me."

"I will," Will promised sincerely.

Shawn raised an eye-brow at his son's immediate response. "You could let me live for a day or two, Kid," he laughed. "You don't have to kill me immediately."

"Okay," Will shrugged, just as content with this.

They followed Henry into the house. Once inside, Will went upstairs to his room to play video games. Shawn meandered into the kitchen, where Henry had started on dinner. A wooden cane was resting against the counter by his side as he moved between the stove and some mixing bowls on the counter.

"Jessie called a few minutes ago," Henry told him, looking up from the sizzling skillet. "She wanted to know if you had any idea why her six-year-old daughter asked the Chief of Police where babies come from."

Shawn shrugged innocently, picking absently at some of the chopped green peppers that were sitting on the chopping board by his father's hand. "I don't know…" he murmured, a faint, knowing smiling creeping across the edges of his mouth. "I blame television."

Henry was not amused. "What was he up to this time?" he demanded, dropping the knife he was holding next to the chopping board. He rested his hands against the counter and met his son's eyes accusingly.  
"Nothing."

"Shawn--"

"What? Nothing!" Shawn insisted, incensed by the very suggestion that his son could somehow be up to something. "He didn't do anything! And he definitely didn't lock himself in a holding cell."

Henry stared at him in dumbfounded silence. "He did _what?_"

"Oh, come on!" Shawn laughed at the horrified expression on his father's face. "Like you never locked yourself in a holding cell."

"What the hell is the matter with him?" Henry groaned, rolling his eyes.

Shawn just grinned, shrugging unaffectedly. "At least he stopped trying to sell the rookies shoelace insurance. And he used a diversion this time…his schemes are getting more complicated. He's growing up, Dad." Shawn sniffed dramatically and wiped an imaginary tear away from his cheek.

Henry grunted. "Don't encourage him, Shawn."

"Yeah, yeah…" Shawn muttered, brushing his hands off on his jeans. "It's not all my fault, you know," he added after a moment. "Remember the Great Prank War of 2011?"

Henry chuckled quietly, shaking his head in amusement. "She kicked your butt in that one."

"Yeah, she did," Shawn agreed, grinning. "I never topped the Cherry Pie Filling Incident. He gets it from both sides, Dad."

"Yeah…" Henry sighed, realizing the situation was hopeless. "I guess he does."

"Hey…" Shawn laughed, starting to walk back towards the living room. "At least he's not an old, cranky cripple."

Shawn laughed, but as soon as his back was turned to his father, he felt a sharp pain shoot through the top of his head.

"Ow!" he yelped in surprise, spinning back around, rubbing his sore head. "What the--?"

His father was grinning smugly as he lowered the cane and dropped it back on the floor. "Maybe that thing's not so bad after all."


	4. Chapter 4

Detective Buzz squinted down at the three creased cards on his desk, closing one eye in concentration.

"Find the Queen!" Will ordered with a satisfied grin as he crossed his arms over his chest and stepped back.

Beth, who was standing right next to Detective Buzz, cleared her throat and stepped forward. She waved her fingers over the cards mystically, as if divining their identity from the air around them. Finally, she tentatively twirled her black braid around her finger with one hand and flipped the middle card over with the other.

"There it is!" she squealed, clapping when the center card turned out to be the Queen of Hearts.

"Awww, man!" Will snapped in dramatic disappointment, winking at her. "You got it, Beth…you win the five bucks."

He handed the money over to her. She put it in her pocket and skipped away happily. Will turned back to Detective Buzz, grinning broadly. "Do you want to try, Detective Buzz?"

"Uh…" Buzz looked down at the cards again.

How hard could it be to find the Queen?

Beth had done it…

"Sure," he shrugged. "Why not?"

"Okay," Will nodded, picking the cards up again, deftly shifting them on the desk as he flashed the Queen a few times. "Follow the Queen!"

"Spencer!" an angry voice from behind him made him drop the cards.

"Uh-oh…" he groaned, slowly turning around to face the wrath of Chief Lassiter.

"How many times have I told you not to pull your little Three Card Monty scam in my precinct?" he shouted furiously, grabbing Will by the collar.

"Uh…once?" Will guessed as he was dragged away towards the Chief's office. "And I think I was absent that day, too…"

"Try again." Lassiter snapped, opening his office door and shoving the boy inside. "Sit down and don't move until your dad gets back."

"I wasn't going to palm it!" Will protested, sighing as he tumbled into the plush chair in the corner of the office. "Really! I run a clean game!"

Lassiter rolled his eyes and reached into the breast pocket of Will's blue flannel shirt, which he was wearing unbuttoned over a white t-shirt. "Then what's this?" he demanded, holding up the card he produced between two fingers right in front of Will's nose.

It was the Queen of Hearts.

Will gasped. "How did _that_ get in there?"

Lassiter rolled his eyes and tossed the card on the floor, crossing to his desk and taking a seat. "Whatever, Spencer," he growled. "Just stop ripping off my officers."

"Yes, Sir…" Will sighed, his blonde hair tumbling into his eyes and he slumped in the chair in defeat.

He watched the Chief work on paper work silently for a few minutes, then sat up. "Chief Lassiter…" he started hesitantly.

"What?" Lassiter growled, not even looking up from his work.

"You've known my dad for a long time, right?"

"Unfortunately," Lassiter rolled his eyes, his pen still flying over the papers furiously.

"Before he got married…did he only date cops?"

The pen stopped. Lassiter looked up at the boy, perplexed. "Did he _what?_"

"Did he only date cops?" Will repeated, sliding his hands under his legs as he kicked his feet slowly back and forth under the chair.

"Why the hell would I care about your dad's dating life?"

"I dunno…" Will mumbled, shrugging. He looked down at the carpet, blinking slowly. "I was just wondering…"

Lassiter sighed and rolled his eyes, dropping then pen. "Your mom was the only cop he dated as far as I know."

"Oh." Will nodded, looking back up. "Do you think he'd date another one?"

"Not in _my_ precinct." Lassiter snorted.

"Oh…"

"What the hell is going on, Spencer?" Lassiter demanded, leaning across the desk as he watched Will warily, as if he might pull out a bomb at any moment.

"I don't know…"

"Yeah, you do!" Lassiter snapped. "What are you up to? I swear if you try to pull something--"

"I'm not up to anything!" Will insisted, for once actually appearing to be genuinely innocent. "I was just wondering!"

"Why?"

"I don't know…" Will hesitated, looking down at his sneakers. "I guess I just thought…maybe if he met someone…like, at a crime scene or something…"

"You're trying to set your dad up?"

"Maybe…" Will shrugged noncommittally, his eyes meeting Lassiter's as he tried to appraise the Chief's reaction. "But he can't know it's a set-up."

An evil grin slowly spread across Lassiter's face. He leaned across the desk, raising an interested eyebrow at the boy across the room. "You want to set your dad up…and you don't want him to know about it?"

"Uh-huh."

Lassiter laughed, his eyes glinting as a plan slowly formed. "Spencer…I think I might be able to help you out."

Will blinked in surprise. "Why?" he asked skeptically. "You don't help me out. Ever."

Lassiter leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. "Have you ever heard about the Hard Boiled Egg Incident?" 


	5. Chapter 5

Shawn and Gus got back to the precinct a half hour later. Will looked up from seat in Lassiter's office, from which he hadn't budged for an agonizing half-hour under the Chief's watchful eye. Lassiter glanced at him, then rolled his eyes.

"Get out of here," he muttered, flicking his head at the door, not even bothering to stop his paperwork.

Will didn't wait for him to change his mind. He bolted out of the office like he was two steps ahead of a fire.

"Dad!" he shouted happily, running straight for Shawn.

Gus had already found Beth, who had skipped up to her father just a few moments ahead of Will. She was followed closely by Detective Buzz.

"Hey, Bean," Gus greeted his daughter, scooping her up in his arms.

"Hi, Daddy!" she returned, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Guess what! I'm a shill!"

Gus put her down, shooting Will an accusing look.

"You're a _what?_"

"A shill!"

"Beth!" Will coughed discretely, jabbing her in the ribs with his elbow. "What's the first rule of being a shill?"

She blinked, for a moment searching her memory for the answer. 'Oh, right," she nodded finally. "Don't talk about being a shill." She turned back to her father, looking up at him as she primly dusted off the pleats of her skirt. "Never mind. I'm not a shill, Daddy," she told him, completely straight-faced.

Gus wasn't buying it. He straightened up, then turned to Shawn and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Shawn laughed, rubbing his arm. "What was that for?"

"Your son turned my daughter into a shill!" Gus shouted, pointing at Will.

"Maybe your daughter turned my son into a…whatever you call someone who uses a shill." Shawn returned. "A shilling? A shill…er? Shill…meister?"

"That'd be a conman, Shawn," Gus informed him, crossing his arms.

"I'm not a conman!" Will protested.

"Yeah. Right." Gus snorted, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's true." Detective Buzz spoke up. "Will wasn't conning anyone. We were just playing Three Card Monty. Beth even won! She wouldn't win if it was a con, right?"

Gus glared at Shawn again, who just shrugged innocently. "Don't look at me! I didn't teach him Three Card Monty!"

Chief Lassiter stepped out of his office. "Guster!" he shouted across the precinct. "Get in here!"

"Oh, great…" Gus groaned, rolling his eyes and sighing as he slowly started to trudge towards Lassiter's office. "He's probably going to tell me he's charging my daughter with a felony…"

Beth followed him, skipping and bouncing happily the whole way.

"Uh…Shawn…" Buzz cleared his throat when it was just the three of them, glancing around nervously as if he didn't want anyone else to hear. "I think the real Magic 8 Ball is broken."

"Really?" Shawn blinked in surprised. "I just calibrated it last week…"

"I know," Buzz nodded, leading Shawn and Will back to his desk. "Usually it works…it's helped on a million cases since you gave it to me when I became a detective. But it just isn't helping me out this time at all! It keeps saying 'No'."

He slid into his seat, sighing as he opened a file and picked up the Magic 8 Ball from the corner of his desk. He rolled it in his hands, glancing down at it as the black triangle with white print faded into view.

NO

"See?" he sighed, showing Shawn. "It's broken."

Shawn glanced down at the file, his eyes skimming the reports at lightening speed. Will came alongside his father, also looking down at the files, straining to see what Shawn was seeing.

"It's not broken, Buzz." Shawn assured him, nudging his son. "Remember what I told you? In the Spirit World, everything just gets all jumbled. You have to interpret it."

"What do you mean?" Buzz asked, his forehead wrinkling as he took the files back and looked through them again.

Shawn closed his eyes, holding the ball up to his forehead. "Look at the files, Buzz…" he murmured, gently shaking the Magic 8 Ball. "There's something wrong at the scene…"

"What?" Buzz asked, flipping through the pages almost frantically.

Shawn opened his eyes again, grinning as he tossed the Magic 8 Ball to Buzz, who caught it with one hand. "Use your psychic powers, Buzz."

"But I don't have any--"

"Buzz." Shawn interrupted him. "Trust me on this."

Buzz sighed and closed his eyes, holding the Magic 8 Ball up to his forehead, just like Shawn had.

"No…" he murmured, his brow furrowing in deep concentration. "No…no…"

Suddenly, his eyes shot open. He looked down at the file again. "No…"

He gasped, his eyes growing wide as something in his mind clicked. "Shawn! There were no finger prints on the door!"

"So?" Shawn asked, already grinning and nodding.

"So…" Buzz continued slowly, thinking through each word carefully. "So…it was a suicide…why would someone wipe their door knob down before killing themselves?"

He looked back up at Shawn, excitement glowing in his eyes. "It wasn't suicide, Shawn! It couldn't have been! There's something else going on! I have to tell Chief Lassiter!"  
He dropped the Magic 8 Ball on the desk and took off in the direction of the Chief's office.

When he was gone, Will slowly picked up the Magic 8 Ball, turning it over in his fingers as he examined it carefully.

"Dad…" he asked, looking up at his father as the white triangle turned to ASK AGAIN LATER. "This isn't really magic, is it?"

"No, Kid," Shawn shook his head, gently mussing his son's hair. "It's not really magic."

"You just looked at the files and saw where it said there weren't any fingerprints on the doorknob…right?"

Shawn didn't answer, but he didn't have to. Will just pressed on, his tiny mind spinning furiously.

"But, if it's not really magic…that means Detective Buzz doesn't really have psychic powers. That means he figured it out by himself, right?"

"Yup." Shawn nodded, finally responding.

"But why didn't you tell him that?" Will asked, putting it back on the desk.

Shawn shrugged, turning on his heel and walking towards the front door. "Because he wouldn't have believed he could do it, Kid."


	6. Chapter 6

"Is Three Card Monty something we don't tell Grandpa about?" Will asked as he jumped out of the truck and started to walk towards the house.

Shawn laughed. "Unless you want to see Grandpa's head explode."

"Really?" Will gasped, his sparkling blue eyes growing wide. "Will his head really explode?"

"Yeah," Shawn nodded. "But it's not as cool as you'd think…trust me."

They paused at the back door when Gus pulled up in his relatively new tan mini-van. Beth tumbled out of the backseat, leaving the sliding door hanging open as she ran straight at Will before her parents even had their doors open.

"Will! Let's play Hide-and-Seek!" she squealed, bolting right past him into the house, not even stopping long enough to hear his response.

"Okay," he shrugged, quickly following her inside. The screen door slammed shut behind them as they disappeared up the stairs.

Shawn turned back to Gus and Jessie, who had just gotten out of the car and were making their way up the driveway.

"Cleaning these gutters better not take all night," Gus grumbled, sighing as he pushed his sleeves up. "I have better things to do, Shawn."

"Like what?" Shawn laughed, rolling his eyes as Jessie. "Falling asleep in front of the ten o'clock news?"

"Shut up!"

Jessie laughed, affectionately squeezing Gus' elbow. "He only does that the nights _you_ don't have him out until all hours working on case," she reminded Shawn, her fingers gently lacing through Gus'.

"Oh, come on!" Shawn snorted, grinning at her. "You know you love having him out of the house."

"Well…it's better than hearing the constant snoring coming from the recliner…" Jessie admitted, gently nudging her husband.

"I don't snore!" Gus insisted, pulling his hand away.

Shawn was already heading towards the garage to drag out the ladder. "Gus, please!" he called over his shoulder before disappearing inside. "We went to camp together, remember? Sleeping in the same room with you is like sleeping with a chainsaw!"

"Shawn! I don't snore!" Gus shouted when he emerged again, lugging the ladder behind him.

Jessie had already climbed the front steps and was heading inside. "You boys can fight it out…I'm going to see if Henry will show me how to make those crab cakes we had for dinner the other night."

"Don't say anything about him being an old crippled," Shawn warned her, letting the ladder slam against the side of the house as he propped it up and prepared to scale it. "You'll get a caning."

"A caning?" Gus snorted, holding the bottom of the ladder in place while Shawn slowly climbed the first few rungs. "Seriously?"

"Oh, he'll cane you…trust me." Shawn intoned, gingerly rubbing the bump on the top of his head as he reached the gutter. He groaned and reached into the filthy thing, pulling out handfuls of leaves and muck. "What'd Lassie want, anyway?" he asked, looking down at his best friend as he dropped the whole sloppy mess to the ground.

Gus sidestepped the dirty shower, still holding into the bottom of the ladder. "Nothing…" he shrugged, trying just slightly too hard to appear casual.

Shawn stopped, immediately sensing something askance. Gus was looking at the ground now while pretending not to be; a sure sign he was lying through his teeth.

"Nothing?" Shawn scoffed. "Dude…what? Am I like seven? Come on! He told you _something_!"

"It was nothing, Shawn! Really!"

Shawn grinned, raising an intrigued eyebrow as he took a step back down the ladder. "Yeah, okay, Liar McLiesalot." He snorted. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Gus insisted, looking back up the ladder as Shawn reached the bottom rung.

"Dude…please." Shawn rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he jumped to the ground. "You _know_ I'm going to find out. What is it? Is Lassie really firing my ass this time?"

"No…"

"Then what is it?" Shawn demanded, tapping Gus' forehead with his index finger. "I'll just keep tapping you until you tell me."

"Knock it off!" Gus growled, brushing Shawn's hand away, though it was too late to avoid the round, black smudge of leaf muck Shawn had left in the center of his forehead.

"Tell meee!" Shawn whined, dodging Gus' hand as he continued to keep tapping him in the same spot in the center of his forehead, his finger beating out an irritating, steady cadence. "Tell me tell me tell me tell me!"

Gus hit his hand away again, spinning on his heel and marching for the door. "Leave me alone! And you can clean out the stupid gutters by yourself!"

"Oh, come on, Gus!" Shawn laughed, following him into the house. "Tell me! Tell me tell me tell me!"

* * *

"Beth?" Will called, coming up the long, narrow staircase into the attic. He peered into the darkness, making out the form of piles of boxes scattered across the floor, but he didn't see any signs of Beth.

"I know you're in here," he continued, his hand fumbling over the wall, searching for the light switch. "I looked everywhere else in the house…you have to be up here."

He blinked, temporarily blinded as he hit the switch and the room was suddenly flooded with light.

"Beth…?" he called again, not sounding as sure this time as he took a hesitant step into the attic.

From the far corner, he heard a stifled laughed. He grinned and turned his steps towards the sound, creeping along on the balls of his feet.

"Catch me, Will!" Beth screeched, laughing as she suddenly jumped out from behind a box and sprinted for the door. Will quickly turned to follow her, but as he did he lost his balance and tripped over a stack of cardboard boxes. He hit the floor hard, grunting as he felt the hard wood cut into his outstretched hands.

"Oh, man!" he groaned, scrambling to pick up the contents of the box, which had gone flying across the floor in the collision. "Grandpa's gonna kill me! I'm not supposed to even be up here!"

He looked back at the door to enlist Beth's help in cleaning up the mess, but she was long gone. He sighed and turned over one of the boxes, dumping a handful of chapstick tubes he had scooped up into it.

"What the heck is this stuff?" he muttered, his brow wrinkling as he surveyed the eclectic collection sprawled across the floor. The box was old and beat-up, and he had to squint and cock his head to the side to make out the faded words scrawled across the side.

**Jules' Desk**

Will's eyes grew large as he realized what it was. "This is my mom's stuff!"

His eyes scanned the floor quickly for the other objects. He scurried around on his hands and knees, gathering up anything he could find that had fallen out of the box. When he had an armload, he dumped it into a pile in the center of floor and sat down with his back against the wall, slowly sorting through it.

There was an ancient yellow pencil with teeth marks around the eraser. He ran his fingers over them, closing his eyes as he tried to imagine his mom using it at the station. He knew what she looked like from the pictures around the house. He tried to imagine her voice, the voice he had never heard…what had it sounded like?

Had it been soft and gentle like Aunt Jessie's?

Or gruff and firm like Grandpa's?

He put it down and turned to the papers next. Most of them were articles about pregnancy and babies. He tossed those aside, but stopped when he came to some pieces of loose leaf paper that were handwritten. He knew immediately it had to be her writing, because it wasn't his dad's. He studied the loops and lines of her neat cursive, wondering if they could tell him anything about her.

After a few minute of diligent study, all he could say for certain was the she needed to go to the store for milk.

And she had three overdue library books she meant to return.

He flipped through the rest of the pages, still unable to discern anything about the woman he had never met…until he came to the last one.

It had been yellowed with age and the writing was faded almost into oblivion, but he could still make out the words when he held the paper up to the light.

It was a list of names, each with a question mark after them.

_Peter?_

_Mark?_

_Shawn, Jr?_

_Taylor__?_

_Liam?_

_Calvin?_

_Will?_

_Miles?_

Each name had been crossed off the list except for one.

His name.

He stared unblinkingly at the list for a long moment.

She hadn't crossed off his name…

She knew he was going to be Will.

She had known his name.

He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes, for a moment in the silence of the attic certain he heard a voice calling his name.


	7. Chapter 7

The cell phone rang as Gus pulled up in front of the school. He flipped it open, glancing at Shawn in the passenger's seat as he mumbled, "Hello?"

He nodded along with whatever the person on the other end was saying, still watching Shawn nervously.

Shawn, however, didn't seem to have the least bit of interest in his friend's conversation. He was looking out the window, watching for Will and Beth to come out of the school. They finally emerged just as Gus was hanging up the phone, their backpacks slung over their shoulders as they ran across the school yard to the mini-van.

"Who was it?" Shawn asked Gus as the kids climbed into the backseat, tossing their bags on the floor.

"Lassiter," Gus answered quickly, his eyes fixed on Will in the rearview mirror. Will nodded at him, a silent understanding passing between them.

"Lassiter?" Shawn repeated, watching his friend's eyes shift from his son to the road ahead of them, but never once look at him. "Do we have a case?"

"Yeah." Gus nodded, finally forcing himself to look at Shawn. "We're going to the scene now."

Shawn turned around and looked at his son in the backseat, who was grinning innocently at him. He looked back at Gus, who looked like he was on the verge of throwing up.

"What's going on?" he laughed, seeing actual beads of sweat break out across his friend's brow. "What are you guys up to?"

"Nothing!" Gus insisted, quickly wiping them away with the back of his hand.

In the back seat, Will was rolling his eyes. "Smooth, Uncle Gus…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Do I have to poke you again?" Shawn grinned at Gus, raising his finger and bending it threateningly.  
"Don't poke me, Shawn," Gus warned, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. "I'll give you a Charlie horse. Right on your tibia."

"What's a Charlie horse, Daddy?" Beth piped up from the backseat. She was twisting one of her braids around her finger, her eyes taking in every movement in the front seat.

"Yeah, Dad…" Shawn grinned at his best friend, knowing his friend couldn't actually assault him with the kids in the car. "What's a Charlie horse?"

"Never mind, Bean." Gus told his daughter, elbowing Shawn as the realization dawned on him, too.  
"Were those mean words, Daddy?" she asked him seriously, giving him a reproaching look. "Because my teacher says you should only use nice words."

"They weren't mean words." Gus assured her, smiling at her in the mirror even as his fist crept towards Shawn's seat, prepared to punch him in the leg the second he was sure Beth couldn't see. "Daddy doesn't use mean words."

Shawn snorted, brushing Gus' hand away from his seat. "I don't know, Daddy…they hurt my feelings."

"Shut up, Shawn." Gus muttered.

"'Shut up' aren't nice words, either." Shawn lectured him playfully. "And neither are 'pink jointed stubble baron hippopotamus cake pan'. So, you really shouldn't call me that anymore, either. What kind of example are you setting for child, Gus? Honestly. We're fathers now. How about a little maturity?"

He shook his head, clucking his tongue reprovingly. Gus just rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Shawn."

* * *

"Aren't we going to drop the kids off at the station?" Shawn asked as Gus pulled up to the crime scene, which had already been surrounded by yellow police tape.

"Uh…we don't have time," Gus told him, clearing his throat as he stepped out of the van and went around to the back door to open it.

"Dude…" Shawn laughed, looking more than a little confused. "You know Lassie's going to freak if we taint his crime scene with juice boxes and sticky fingers…and he won't like it if the kids are there, either!"

Gus just shrugged, taking Beth's hand as they ducked under the yellow tape and marched into the apartment building. "Don't ask me…" he mumbled, casting his friend an apologetic look over his shoulder. "Lassie just said to get over here _now._"

Will jumped out of the backseat and started inside, but Shawn grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

"Hold it, Kid," he said firmly. "You know what Uncle Gus is up to. So tell me! What's going on?"

Will blinked up at him innocently. "What do you mean?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "The innocent act?" he snorted, releasing his son's collar. "Please, Will. I _invented_ the innocent act."

Will sighed, thoughtfully straightening his shirt. He looked both ways, then motioned for his father to come closer.

Shawn leaned in. "What?"

"You know how we have some things we don't tell Grandpa?" Will whispered back, his eyes sparkling.

"Yeah," Shawn nodded.

Will looked both ways again, then leaned in so close that his lips were almost touching his father's ear. "There's things I don't tell you, too."

He grinned evilly and walked ahead of Shawn into the crime scene. Shawn straightened up, rolling his eyes as he followed.

"Oh, I'm so not winning Father of the Year…" he sighed.

Lassiter was already inside the victim's apartment when Shawn finally walked in. It was nothing but a tiny, cramped room with a bathroom down a tiny cramped hallway. It was so small, Shawn noted, that there didn't even seem to be room for a victim.

He looked at the bloodstains in the center of the plush, off-white carper, then glanced over at Lassiter, who was in the corner talking to an attractive, brunette woman from the Crime Scene Unit. Will and Beth were sitting on the couch that was pushed against the wall, watching everything that transpired with rapt attention. Gus had disappeared down the hallway.

"Lassie!" Shawn called, motioning the Chief over. "What's the deal? Where's the victim?"

"We don't know, Spencer." Lassiter shrugged, flipping through his notebook. "Mrs. Brickman, 92 years old. A neighbor came to check on her this morning and found the blood. She was gone. We've been trying to track her down ever since."

Shawn looked down at the blood spatters again, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

Something was weird about them…

Odd…

But what?

Lassiter had already walked away again when Shawn looked back up.

_Something_ was going on…he was sure of it.

Gus came back up the hallway a moment later. As he passed the brunette woman from the CSU, his eyebrows raised in interest.

"Dude…" he grinned, nudging Shawn as he walked up to his friend. "She's hot."

Shawn looked over at her, shrugging disinterestedly before looking back down at the blood, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. "I guess."

"You guess?" Gus snorted, looking back at her.

Shawn raised as eyebrow at his friend, grinning "Dude…I'm telling Jess you were checking out other women."

"I'm not checking out other women, Shawn!" Gus snapped. "You know I love Jess…I'm just saying."

"You're just saying _what?_" Shawn demanded, more confused than ever now.

Gus shrugged. "She's hot."

Shawn rolled his eyes, shaking his head to clear away the distractions as he looked back down at the bloodstains. "Whatever, Gus."

Gus sighed, casting Lassiter a helpless look across the room. He wandered away, leaving Shawn to his blood.

A moment later, Beth tugged on his sleeve.

"Uncle Shawn…" she asked, blinking up at him. "Why's Daddy acting weird?"

Shawn laughed, looking over at the corner of the small apartment, where Gus and Lassiter were conferring about something now, glancing over at him every few seconds while pretending not to.

"I don't know," he murmured.

"Is that blood?" she asked, looking down at the stains with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Shawn laughed, half-expecting her to dash away from the nearest bathroom like her father would. But she didn't. She just stared down at them intently.

"They look like ketchup," she murmured.

Shawn laughed again, squatting next to them for a closer look. "They're not ketchup." He assured her, then stopped himself and took a second look.

That's what was bothering him!

They weren't ketchup…but they were definitely fake. The color was just slightly off…and the splotches were almost perfect circles, too neat to be natural.

Why hadn't he seen it before?

"It's fake…" he murmured, his brow wrinkling as he looked back up for Lassiter and Gus, but they had disappeared now, along with Will. "But why would there be fake blood…?"

Before he could finish his thoughts, the apartment was plunged into darkness. The only light came from several candles burning on the coffee table.

Shawn stood up, looking around him, completely baffled until 'Unchained Melody' was suddenly being blasted over some unseen stereo system.

The woman from CSU was looking over at him, also appearing completely caught off-guard by the sudden change in atmosphere.

Shawn heard giggling behind him and quickly whirled around, just in time to see Will's head duck outside the apartment door.

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the woman, whose lips were parted in a silent, awkward question.

Shawn left Beth standing by the fake blood and walked over to her, grinning despite himself. "Did you have anything to do with this?" he asked, already laughing.

She, however, did not find it nearly as amusing as he did. "Is this some kind of stupid joke?" she hissed, glaring at him.

He blinked. "Uh…I don't think it's a joke. I think my son--"

"Do you realize how much time of my time you've already wasted with this stupid stunt?" she continued, wagging her finger in his face, not even waiting for his response.

"Are you kidding me?" Shawn snorted. "You think this was _my_ idea? Seriously? This is the best you think I could come up with?"

"I was wondering why the Chief would call me to a crime scene with fake blood, no fingerprints and not a single sign of foul play! Did _you_ put him up to it? Is this your idea of being cute? Because let me tell you, it's not cute to send me on a wild goose chase! I have actual _work_ to do!"

"Of course it's not cute!" Shawn agreed, batting her hand away from his nose as she continued to scold him. "And, trust me. If I planned this, I sure as heck would be more original than 'Unchained Melody', okay? Obviously, my son needs a lesson in clichés. And music more current than the stone age…"

The woman dropped her hand by her side, her angry face softening slightly. "Your son?" she asked, looking around. "That boy that was here earlier is your son?"

"Yeah," Shawn nodded. "Will. I think this was his idea…he was asking me if I was ever going to date again the other day…I guess my 'hell no' was too subtle for him."

"'Hell no'?" she repeated, looking somewhat offended.

"Nothing personal."

For a moment, it appeared she didn't believe him, but then she laughed, every ounce of irritation vanished now. "Did his mom pass away?" she asked quietly.

Shawn nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"I guessed…you still have her ring." She pointed at the necklace hanging around Shawn's neck, dangling from which was a small diamond ring.

Shawn quickly tucked it inside his shirt again, shrugging as his shoulders stiffened.

"Look…" he said finally. "Trust me on this. If I set this up, it wouldn't have been 'Unchained Melody'. Or a crime scene. Will's ten. I could do better than this if I wanted to."

She smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure you could…if you wanted to."


	8. Chapter 8

Will went running upstairs the second they got home, not even pausing to say hi to his grandfather, who was sitting on the couch reading.

Henry glanced up as the furious ten-year-old zipped past. "Hey, Kid," he called after him, but Will was too far gone to hear.

Shawn came into the living room a moment later. Henry pushed his glasses up on his head, searching his son's face for some clue about what was going on.

"What's with Will?" he asked, setting his book aside as he slowly sat up, still trying to keep from bending his knee. "What'd he get busted for now?"

"Nothing." Shawn mumbled.

"Shawn," Henry grunted, not about to let his son get away with such a flimsy lie. "What the hell's going on?"

"You mean besides my son being the worst pimp in the history of the world?" Shawn rolled his eyes, taking the seat his father cleared for him on the couch.

"He's _what?_"

"The kid tried to set me up, Dad." Shawn sighed as he kicked his heels up onto the coffee table, laughing slightly, though the complete humor of the situation was still shrouded in mild irritation. "He dummied up a crime scene. It was the most elaborate, horribly-executed set-up in history. The kid's in serious trouble when he hits the dating world."

Henry laughed, seeing the full humor better than his son. "It's not so fun when the schemes are turned against you, eh, Kid?"

"Shut up, Dad," Shawn groaned. "I don't really need an 'I-told-you-one-day-you'd-get-a-kid-who-puts-you-through-what-you-put-me-through' lecture right now. Okay?"

Henry shrugged, reaching for his cane, which was lying on the floor under the couch.

"Don't hit me again!" Shawn pleaded, throwing his hands up in front of his face in anticipation of the strike to come.

Henry grunted, rolling his eyes as he slowly climbed to his feet. "I'm not going to hit you, Kid. And I'm not going to lecture you."

"Seriously?" Shawn snorted, eyeing his father suspiciously as he slowly lowered his hands. "No lecture?"

"No lecture."

"Oh, come on!" Shawn shouted, dropping his feet to the floor. "The one time I actually need one, and you've got _nothing?_"

Henry turned back around, wincing slightly. "What do you want me to say, Shawn?" he asked quietly. "Didn't it occur to you that the kid was going to figure out someday that he doesn't have a mom?"

"Yeah…" Shawn admitted carefully, still waiting for the bomb to drop.

He knew it was coming…

Whether he denied it or not, Henry Spencer always had a bomb up his sleeve.

This time, Shawn was actually hoping he did.

"So?" Henry prodded. "What was your plan for it? What were you going to do when Will told you he wanted a mom?"

"Easy." Shawn shrugged breezily. "Distract him with a puppy."

Henry's eyes narrowed. He raised his cane, gesturing at his son with it emphatically. "You're not bringing a puppy into my house, Shawn!" he snapped.

"I've been here ten years, Dad. I mow the lawn and clean the gutters…I think it's safe to call it _our_ house at this point."

"Not if you get a puppy." Henry snorted. "You'll be out on your ass so fast it'll make your head spin."

"You'd do that to your own grandson?"  
"Will could stay," Henry shrugged seriously. "You and the puppy would go. I'm sure you'd be very happy together on the streets."

"Thanks, Dad," Shawn rolled his eyes. "That's the lecture I was looking for. The 'You-can't-have-a-puppy' lecture from sixth grade. Are you going to make me build another doghouse, too?"

"What the hell do you want from me, Shawn?" Henry demanded, taking a slow, plodding step back towards the couch. "It's not my fault you didn't have a plan."

"I didn't need one!" Shawn returned. "I was doing fine!"

He groaned and leaned his head back against the wall, covering his eyes with his hands. "I thought I was doing fine, Dad. I thought between me and you and Gus and Jess he had enough…I didn't know he missed her. He didn't even know her."

"Maybe that's why he misses her, Kid," Henry suggested, leaning against his cane.

"Yeah…" Shawn sighed, sitting back up. "I know…but what the hell am I supposed to do? I barely got myself through it…how am I supposed to get him through it ten years later?"

He looked up at his father pleadingly, for once hanging on his every word.

For once, stunned when Henry didn't have anything to say.

"I don't know, Kid." Henry murmured finally. "I don't know what you're supposed to do…but I know you're not going to figure it out down here while your son's upstairs somewhere."

Shawn sighed, nodding limply as he pushed himself off the couch and to his feet. "I know."

He started towards the stairs, but stopped and turned around again when he heard his father's voice.

"Shawn?"

"Huh?" he mumbled.

"You're doing fine, Kid."

* * *

Shawn finally found Will up in the attic, sitting in the middle of the floor with the contents of his mother's box spread out around him. Shawn froze at the top of the attic stairs, immediately knowing what was going on.

"Hey, Kid," he greeted his son quietly, flicking the light on as he entered the attic.

Will looked up at him, his eyes red. "Are you mad at me?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Shawn smiled gently, walking across the room and taking a seat next to his son, propping himself against a stack of boxes. "No, Will. I'm not mad at you…but you need some serious work on your game, Kid. If that's how you try to score a date, you're going to be lonely for a long, long time."

"Why?" Will blinked up at him innocently. "Chief Lassiter and Uncle Gus thought it was a good plan."

Shawn laughed. "Buddy, _Grandpa_ knows more about women than they do, okay? First rule of dating: Don't listen to Lassie or Uncle Gus."

"Okay," Will nodded, committing the axiom to memory.

Shawn chuckled, softly running his hand over the back of his son's head. "I didn't say I wasn't going to date again because I _can't_ get a date. You know that, right?"

Will shook his head. "No. I didn't."

"I can get dates, Will. I dated a lot before I met your mom."

"Really?" Will gasped, his eyes brimming with curious pride. "How many girlfriends did you have?"

Shawn cleared his throat. "Uh…a lot. But that's a different conversation for a different day. The point is, I could find someone if I wanted to. I just don't want to."

"But why not?" Will demanded, his fists clenching. "It's not fair!"

"What's not fair?" Shawn asked, surprised by the sudden anger burning behind his son's normally bright eyes.

"Mom's gone because of me!" Will shouted, a single, furious tear finding its way out of the corner of his eye and slowly working itself down his cheek. "It's my fault I don't have a Mom!"

Shawn blinked, for a moment blindsided by the revelation. "Is that what you think?" he asked quietly.

Will nodded stiffly, looking down at the floor. "I know it's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Will." Shawn assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze. "I promise. It's not your fault."

But the words fell on deaf ears. Will just stared at the floor, fighting back the rest of the angry tears that wanted to burst out.

Shawn leaned back against the box thoughtfully, his hand slowly finding its way to the back of his son's head, playing with the curl at the nape of his neck like he had when Will was a baby. "You never got to meet her, Kid," he murmured. "But she loved you."

Will looked up at him. "How do you know?"

Shawn smiled. "Do you know how I found out we were having you?"

"No."  
"She didn't tell me…she just stopped drinking coffee." Shawn explained, letting go of Will's curl and absently playing with some dust on the floor instead. "For two days, she wouldn't drink coffee…she didn't want to tell me until she was sure, but she had already given up caffeine."

"So, what?" Will sniffed quietly.

"So, she wouldn't give up coffee for just anything, Kid." Shawn laughed. "And she wouldn't take desk duty for anyone, either. She hated desk duty…but she knew she had to do it. She knew she had to keep you safe. That's all she thought about…you. What you would look like, what you would act like…if you'd get my nose or hers. She loved you, Kid. And she never stopped thinking about you."

Will sniffed again, a little louder this time. "Really?"

"Really." Shawn nodded.

"Do you still miss her?"

Shawn didn't answer right away. He dropped the dust he was playing with and wiped his hands off on his pants. "Yeah," he said finally. "I do. But that's not why I don't want to date anyone."

"Then why don't you?" Will asked.

Shawn shrugged, staring at the floor alongside his son now. "I dated. I told you. Before I met Jules, I dated a lot…but then I met her and I didn't need to anymore. There just wasn't anyone else half as interesting or smart or beautiful. And there never will be, Kid. She was it for me."

"But lots of people get married again," Will argued. "You could, too."

Shawn smiled palely, standing back up. "I had five years, Will. It wasn't enough…but that's what I got. And I wouldn't trade those years for anything."

"Why not?"

"Because," Shawn smiled, back at the door. "I got you."


	9. Chapter 9

"Help!"

Chief Lassiter quickly stepped out of his office as the ear-piercing shriek cut through the station. "What the hell--?" he growled at Detective Buzz, who was sitting at his desk filing reports.

"I don't know," Buzz shrugged nonchalantly, looking up but not moving from his seat. "I think it's coming from the holding cells."

"Help!" the pitiful voice screamed again.

This time, it was definitely coming from the holding cells down the long, narrow corridor on the other side of the station.

"Help!"

Lassiter rolled his eyes, recognizing the young voice. "Spencer!" he growled. "I swear to God if he got himself locked in a cell again, I'm not letting him out!"

He stormed down the hallway, stopping when he reached the first cell. Will's voice was still screaming.

"Help!"

In fact, the screaming was coming from the first cell, the one Lassiter was standing in front of…except that cell was completely empty.

Will was nowhere in sight, even though his voice continued to shriek loudly.

"What the hell…?" Lassiter muttered, his brow wrinkling as he pulled the key out of his pocket and opened the cell door. He stepped inside, searching for the voice.

His eyes scanned the floor until he saw a small, black object under the plank bench at the back of the cell. He quickly walked over to it, kneeling on the floor, his fingers feeling around under the bench until they closed around the object. He pulled it out.

It was a small, black tape recorder.

"Help!" Will's voice screamed again, coming from the device. "Can I stop screaming now, Dad?" it whispered a moment later.

"No," another familiar Spencer voice on the tape laughed. "Keep going. We have to make sure he goes all the way into the cell."

Lassiter's eyes grew wide as he realized he'd been duped. He spun around quickly, but it was too late.

The cell door slammed shut in his face.

"Hey, Lassie!" Shawn grinned from the other side of the bars, dangling the keys Lassiter had left in the door from his fingers.

"Spencer!" Lassiter shouted, griping the bars and glaring at the psychic will all the spite and malice he could muster. "Let me out!"

Shawn just smiled evilly, letting the keys sway back and forth in front of Lassiter's eyes, just out of his reach. "I will…eventually."

"I'm not joking, Spencer!" Lassiter shouted, grabbing for them even though he knew it was pointless. "Let me out!"

Shawn held the keys up in front of his eyes, examining them critically. "Oh, you know what, Lassie?" he grinned. "These are the wrong keys. Let me go find the right ones."

He turned on his heel and started up the hallway again, laughing as Lassiter shouted after him.

"Spencer! Your ass is _so_ fired this time! You hear me, Spencer? You're fired!"

Will was waiting for Shawn at Buzz's desk. Shawn dropped the keys into Buzz's out-stretched hand as Lassiter's voice continued to hurl threats from down the hallway.

"Give us a five minute head start before you let him out. Okay, Buzz?" Shawn asked.

Buzz nodded. "Right…he's not going to punch me or anything is he…?" he asked, suddenly looking nervous.

"Uh….no…" Shawn mumbled, clearing his throat. "Of course not…"

"Are you really fired, Dad?" Will asked, looking concerned as he started to walk out of the precinct with his father.

"Please," Shawn snorted, rolling his eyes and draping his arm around his son's shoulder. "He's fired me at least a thousand times. It never sticks."

"Why not?" Will asked.

"Because," Shawn grinned, mussing his son's hair. "Your mom still scares the hell out of him."


End file.
